HMR – Craft Organization

Does your home ever feel like a craft store?! This week on the podcast, I talk all about how to get your crafts in order so you can create space and have more time to enjoy doing the things you love.

One of the reasons I’ve not tackled the hot mess room on the podcast so far is precisely because it’s a hot mess room and it’s overwhelming!

When there’s so much in there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and not really know where to begin, especially when you’re listening to my podcast episodes but then can’t physically see the things you should be sorting. Because of this, I’m here to try and teleport myself into your space and give us the chance to tackle this together in the most logical way possible.

Let’s Talk About Crafts

In the first episode of my hot mess room series, I talked about as many things as I could that don’t have significant value – just all of the “stuff” that we accumulate.

In the second episode of my hot mess series, I talked about the “just in case” items in your house and explained how I think you should tackle those.

This week, it’s all about crafts!

There’s so many different crafts out there. Also, creative people tend to need a lot of materials and like to work on lots of different things. So instead of talking about specific crafts, I’m going to tackle them all generically, but the same formula applies to all.

Start With The End In Mind

Imagine for a moment that we could stop time and you could have seven full days to dedicate solely to working on your craft. Obviously, it’s not practical in the real world, but it’s a great starting point to look at all of your crafts and work out exactly what you could and would want to use in that time. This will form the basis for everything we do to organize your crafts.

It’s most likely that you’ll have enough crafts to keep you going for seven years rather than seven days. Therefore, it’s going to take you more than seven days just to organize it, let alone start enjoying it! You need to have this reality check. Otherwise, you’re setting up for unrealistic expectations – and we all know I’m the queen of those!

My Scrapbook Downsizing

I have always loved scrapbooking and making photo albums. As a result, I’ve accumulated LOTS of supplies over many years. I came the realize that I didn’t need all of those supplies anymore. I simply don’t scrapbook as much as I used to.

It this week’s podcast episode, I explain how I managed to reduce my craft supplies from taking up two very large closets in the basement to one armoire in the loft.

Why am I telling you this? It’s so you can clearly see how I went from having supplies for a full-time business to supplies that will support me making one or two albums a year.

Letting Go Of The Stamping & Counted Cross Stitch

Similar to my scrapbooking supplies, I used to have A LOT of stamping supplies which I have now condensed to hardly any at all (just a small shoe box versus the whole bookcase that I used to have).

My mother is an artist and makes wonderful rubber stamp cards. Because mom did it, I bought hundreds of rubber stamps and ALL the associated supplies. I was decluttering last summer when I realized that I hadn’t stamped in 15 years. I was only keeping them because:

I’d spent a lot of money on them

The looked super cute

They sat on the gorgeous piece of furniture that my late grandfather had made

I did two things. First, I chose 20 stamps to keep for future projects and I sent the rest to my mom to use and give to others. Second, I took the stamp holder off the wall and offered it to my sister. She was delighted to accept it as she now got something that grandpa had made and she had a use for it.

I did the same with counted cross stitch. I used to LOVE counted cross stitch, but I came to realize that I haven’t done a project in 17 years. I can’t imagine a time when I’m going to do one again any time soon, but I CAN see a time in the distant future when I will pick this hobby back up. So I’ve kept a couple of hoops and all my flosses are in order for when this time comes, but it’s in a small box that’s easy to store.

Allow Yourself To Let Go

Scrapbooking , stamping, and counted cross stitch are examples of crafts that I used to be really into, but am less so now. Similar to what I did, ask yourself if you’re still really into something and if not, adjust the amount of supplies that you hold onto.

As you’re looking at your craft and reliving the memories of the interest in that craft, ask yourself:

What is your current need, desire, and excitement for this craft?

What is your future need, excitement, and desire for this craft?

Only keep the things you really need and give 90% away! It may not be exactly 90%, but I guarantee you it will be around that amount. You do not need to keep a lot.

Sometimes an advancement in technology makes your craft redundant. My stamps are a great example of this. They’re wooden, but modern ones are clear and much easier to use. If you want to revisit a hobby later, invest a bit of money in new things. Don’t be held back by the old things that you’re storing. Just because you’ve held onto them doesn’t mean you have to use them forever.

One Person’s Junk Is Another’s Treasure

Clubs and organizations love craft supplies. Consider donating them to these worthy causes:

Day care centers

Schools

Hospitals

Retirement communities

Homeless shelters

Supplies will be welcomed with open arms. It’s so much better to give them away to help others than for you to be worrying about when you’re going to use the crafts again and how much it cost you in the first place. Let it go!

The Cost Of Organization

Can you get the majority of your crafts down to a manageable amount? Do this in the most efficient way in terms of both time and money.

Hiring someone to professionally organize your craft room is an expensive job because it takes so long and requires specialized organizing solutions. When I was a professional organizer working in people’s houses, I always found organizing craft rooms/supplies to be the most complex work that took up the most time.

If you’re worrying about the expense of how much you’ve spent on your crafts, consider how much it’s going to cost you to truly organize them. Only save them because you want them, not because you feel guilty about the original cost.

Here is a short video where I talk about how to organize your craft supplies:

Find Your Happy

I’ve realized that I like growing a business more than I love crafting. My crafting is creating printables, binders, and podcasts for Organize 365. Don’t feel guilty about finding your happy place.

You can find it by asking yourself these questions:

What’s your most current craft?

How much can you get rid of?

If you’re keeping it, how are you going to organize it?

One great universal craft organization solution is the Ikea Kallax shelving units. You can now get similar ones at lots of different stores so just find the right one for you. Personally, I find that the places that sell the best supplies also sell the best storage solutions.

The Time Is Now!

I’m sure you have lots of crafts that are ongoing projects. I’m challenging you to actually finish them. Give yourself a time frame to finish, decide who it’s going to be for, and meet that goal!

See The Light

I hope I’ve helped you to think about your crafts differently. I know it’s hard, but you don’t have to keep everything. I’m giving you the freedom to let it go, wipe the slate clean and bless others with your crafts.